North American licensees will begin releasing merchandise based on the supernatural action-adventure anime property
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure this summer, under programs developed by VIZ Media, newly appointed as the North American master merchandise licensee. VIZ is releasing the first two manga story arcs this year (see "
New 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventures'"); it released the third manga arc,
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 3 – Stardust Crusaders, in 2005, to coincide with the English release of the OVA and prequel series produced by Super Techno Arts.
The anime is currently unavailable in home video formats, although it is streaming on Crunchyroll in subtitled form. Crunchyroll is also streaming the first three episodes in dubbed form, apparently a test to assess interest.
VIZ VP Licensing Daisuke Aoki elaborated on the appeal of the property. "In Japan, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is one of the country’s longest running and popular properties," he said. "The dynamic adventure also enjoys substantial popularity in North America and similarly spans multiple generations of fans."